Over 80 property developers and housing association members attended Welsh Water’s developer forum last week, which for the first time was hosted online and included speakers from Ofwat and Welsh Government.
Before the pandemic, a key part of Welsh Water’s programme of engagement with its developer customers included holding two physical events a year, called the developer forums.
The events involve updates on key customer priority areas, such as new regulation, improvements Welsh Water has made to its service and the encouragement of valuable feedback on how developers find the new water and sewerage connections process.
This year at the virtual forum hosted on Microsoft Teams, the topics covered ranged from surface water and SABs, how Welsh Water has adapted to continue its support for developer customers during the pandemic, improvements Welsh Water has made to its adoptions process in response to customer feedback and its continued investment in a new developer portal that enables customers to apply for and track their applications online for the first time.
Ian Wyatt, Director of Business Customer Services at Welsh Water said: “We’re proud to have a strong track record when it comes to engaging with our developer customers. While COVID-19 has certainly changed our approach to hosting events, it’s also confirmed just how crucial it is for us to have regular engagement with our developer customers as they adapt to new government restrictions.
"We'd like to thank all of those who attended and made the forum a success, as well as our guest speakers for updating on key areas such as sustainable drainage systems standards and developer services charges."